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​​​​The Department of Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Administration (RPL) at Central Michigan University helps put students on a career path in three distinctive areas.
Outdoor recreation majors land jobs at camps, parks and adventure programs. Students in
recreation and event management, our newest program, help create and run the shows at theme parks, festivals and various entertainment venues.
Th​erapeutic recreation students train for national cer​tification in one of the nation’s top-ranked programs.

The Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Administration Program is nationally accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions(COAPRT). The Department was the first program in Michigan to attain this recognition and has been continuously accredited since 1982.

According to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation program accreditation is significant because "Degree mills and accreditation mills mislead and harm. In the United States, degrees and certificates from mills may not be acknowledged by other institutions when students seek to transfer or go to graduate school. Employers may not acknowledge degrees and certificates from degree mills when providing tuition assistance for continuing education. "Accreditation" from an accreditation mill can mislead students and the public about the quality of an institution. In the presence of degree mills and accreditation mills, students may spend a good deal of money and receive neither an education nor a useable credential."

Annually, the RPL Department collects data measuring its progress toward achieving the standards in our national accreditation. The following represents a “snap-shot” or our progress to date:

Student understanding of the foundational aspects of the recreation profession – at or above listed standards.

Student ability to plan, implement, and evaluate recreation programs and service to serve diverse populations – at or above listed standards.

Student understanding of operations, management and administrative practices in the recreation profession – at or above listed standards.​